2019 F1 new front wing and other changes

F1 will announce more changes to the regulations “in the coming weeks”. That is the news from Chase Carey, the sport’s chief executive in the Liberty Media era.

Brazil’s Globo quotes the American as saying that in addition to a new front wing and other changes for 2019, Liberty is gearing up to make some more announcements about the future.

“We will introduce a larger list of changes to the regulations in the coming weeks to further enhance the sport,” Carey said.

He is referring mainly to 2021, when the current Concorde Agreement will finally have expired.

“We have made good progress with the teams, agreeing on the goals and objectives and now we need to work out the details as we finalise the agreements in the coming months,” said Carey.

“I think everyone agrees with the direction and what we are trying to achieve generally. No one is going to get everything they want, but I think everyone recognises that,” he added.

2019 F1’s front wings will increase in width to 2,000mm – the same width as the car. The increase in width was agreed to balance the loss in downforce from the removal of other parts of the wings.

Force India and Williams ran with 2019 F1 front wings in last in-season test at Hungary.

Force India’s technical director Andrew Green explained about the brans design – “It started with the ongoing analysis that F1 are doing for overtaking in 2021. They found some correlation between front wheel wake and the following car: The more outwash the leading car develops, the better the performance of the leading car, but the worse performance of the trailing car.

“With that information, and they were early on in their analysis, [they] concluded that part of the problem was the front wing, the outwash from the front wing. They did some preliminary analysis and found it had an effect on the following car.

“And there was a decision made by the FIA to introduced basically part of the 2021 regulations for 2019.”

The new wing is likely to only offer a modest improvement, Green believes. “I think it is probably too big a compromise. I think it needed more time.

“But saying that, is the theory’s correct, it should be a small step in the right direction.”

Formula 1 2019 Aero changes

The changes, approved by e-vote, are as follows:

Simplified front wing, with a larger span, and low outwash potential

Simplified front brake duct with no winglets

A wider and deeper rear wing

Ross Brawn, Managing Director says…

“One of the key episodes of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was the collision between team mates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. I don’t want to comment on who might be held responsible or how a team should manage these issues during a race, but I do think the Steward’s decision to reprimand both drivers was the right course of action.

“But I would like to highlight a technical point. Once Daniel had settled for his line, and Max had changed direction blocking that line, the Australian became a passenger. The downforce loss experienced by Ricciardo in the wake of Verstappen’s car would have made it unstoppable. We often think of downforce applying in cornering, but the impact the extra grip has in braking is huge. Take away that grip in braking and what happened on Sunday was inevitable.

“Whilst this was a very severe example, it did highlight once more the need of finding a way to develop the rules to make the cars more raceable in these conditions.

“The decision of the Strategy Group and the F1 Commission taken yesterday, sanctioned by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, to approve a number of aerodynamic modifications, aimed at promoting closer racing and more overtaking for the 2019 season is definitely an important step.

“It’s also important to note that the decision has been taken after an intense period of research into the FIA’s proposals, which were made with the support of Formula 1 and, conducted by a majority of the teams. A good spirit, a good way of working together for a better and more spectacular Formula 1, which is what the FIA, Formula 1, the Teams, and most importantly, the fans want. Bravo.”